The flowers on my Annabelle hydrangea are changing. Planted six years ago in front of my home facing east, last year it started showing flowers that were flat with a few blossoms around the edges. Pollinators LOVED these flowers. This year, almost the entire plant has this type of flat flower, and only 4 or 5 big globe flowers typical of an Annabelle. And, I noticed two other hydrangeas in my yard have a couple of this type of flower on it this year. Any idea what's going on? Do I need to remove them all?

Thank you for supplying pictures though another system. Sharing your pictures with other horticulturists we have some thoughts as to what is happening. First, Annabelle should only be propagated from a good known source and as cuttings. 1) The plants purchased came from the "wild source" (were Annabelle was orginally found) and not reliable over time. 2) Annabelle is not known to revert, yet that possibility exists. If that would occur, it wold likely come from a new stem coming off of the root system and not necessarily the crown of the plant. Follow the lacecap sytle flowers down to the ground and see where they are c oming from. 3) a comment really - All hydrangeas should be bought while in bloom to ensure that plants purcased are indeed what the plant tag says. while not an offical educational site the follwiong link may be of interest. http://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/identify.html You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser for it to function. If additional information comes in I will make another reply.

I spoke with the Hydrangea Breeders Association and the opinion was that your Annabella has begun to revert back to its wild form. At some point when you are no longer pleased with the flower display, remove and replant with more annabelle. As noted earlier, purchase when in bloom.